This paper describes the innovative and complex process of planning and designing a major programme of temporary venues for the London 2012 olympic and Paralympic Games. It sets out the unique challenges of designing high-quality temporary venues and at the same time meeting sustainability, technical and cost parameters. The paper explains the early decision-making process and key drivers that influenced the overall approach to deciding whether venues would be permanent, temporary or a mix of both. It also discusses some of the issues related to temporary as opposed to reusable, demountable or relocatable. The Basketball Arena is used as a case study to demonstrate how an innovative approach has delivered significant cost and programme benefits and to share the key lessons learned.

As the global energy market undergoes a wholesale transformation accelerated by the need to decarbonise, a rapid transition to renewable energy and the mass deployment of distributed energy resources, autonomous energy networks or microgrids are emerging as an attractive mechanism for the delivery of electricity to end users. Yet in Australia, at least, relatively little is known about key aspects of microgrids that are fundamental to their successful deployment, not least the more commercial and economic elements rather than the purely technical. Drawing on the extant global literature on microgrids, in this paper, we explore the most important of these aspects including business models, ownership and investment. Identifying the ambiguity, inconsistency and uncertainty evident in many of the feasibility studies currently in train across Australia, in this paper, we highlight specific areas for future research. These research areas must be addressed if the full potential of microgrids is to be realised in the context of a global energy transition both domestically and internationally.

was set up to be accountable to its sponsors, Transport for London (TfL) and the Department for Transport (DfT), for £14·8 billion of construction work through one of the world's busiest cities. This paper describes how the organisation tackled programme organisation and management, resolving the complexity of a very large-scale project to keep the project on time and within the agreed funding envelope. IntroductionThe Crossrail project to deliver London's new Elizabeth line (as outlined in Figure 1) is nearing completion. By the time the new line is operating to all destinations in December 2019, over 55 000 people will have played their part in its delivery.Crossrail Limited, the publicly owned delivery organisation,

The scale and complexity of the 'wicked problems' posed by sustainability are forcing collaborations between unlikely partners. In many instances, government is choosing to play a critical role in the sustainable innovation process. Yet much of the innovation literature pushes to the fore the ingenuity of the firm, leaving government to play a secondary supporting role. Drawing on ideas from innovations and transitions theory on the role of government in supporting green niches, this paper analyses the example of an evolving biomass project in regional NSW. In particular, the paper focuses upon the role that regional government plays in supporting this community-led collaboration. Based on circular economy principles, the project aims to achieve energy independence whilst simultaneously generating bio-products for the agricultural sector. Utilising a case study methodology including in-depth semi-structured interviews with more than 20 key stakeholders from government, business and the local community, analysis of the data suggests that government is a critical actor in the innovation process; plays a multiplicity of roles across the network; and that these roles vary to a greater degree than previously suggested in the literature. A number of factors are also identified that shape these roles at different stages of the innovation process. This paper sheds new light on the critical role played by government in facilitating and leading sustainability transitions and contributes to our knowledge of sustainable innovations more broadly. It also highlights a need for more research to improve our understanding of appropriate actors at different stages of sustainability transitions.

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